The present invention relates generally to supports for stringed instruments, e.g., cellos, and, more particularly, to such a stand which provides a stable environment which permits ready access to the instrument when needed and excellent support when not in use, while accenting the innate beauty of the instrument itself.
1. Field of the Invention
String instruments, such as violins and cellos, tend to be more delicate than woodwinds or brass instruments and are of a shape that does not lend itself readily to convenient storage when not in immediate use. They are typically made from especially treated woods and many believe that their tone quality actually improves with age.
In the current age of impatience, the emphasis seems to be on noise rather than tonal quality and being able to create xe2x80x9csounds likexe2x80x9d notes electronically is simply good enough. One can, today, for example, unfold his or her electronic keyboard and in a matter of seconds seemingly have an entire band or orchestra at one""s fingertips by flipping a couple of switches.
Despite the clamor for instant gratification, there is still a significant segment of society which appreciates, for example, the renderings of a string quartet, or an orchestra, as opposed to a rock band.
Fine instruments require special care, not only because of the inherent cost, but because their quality often bears a direct relationship to the care given.
Those who appreciate fine music are no less immune from the frenetic pace of modern life than those who create the music, and that means finding a way to place an instrument at rest when not in use, while being able to return it to service quickly, unobtrusively and with no inadvertent contact with obstacles which might be in the way.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
One does not, e.g., attach a neck strap between a point on the main body and the scroll to support an instrument around one""s neck when not being played. What has become the norm among serious musicians amounts to little more than a carrying case, or box, modestly padded, and capable of being upstanding so as to permit access to the instrument within.
It will be appreciated that reaching into a box to retrieve an instrument such as cello, or like instrument, is a potentially clumsy and, perhaps, damaging movement, which, if performed before an audience, could well provide an additional element of otherwise unnecessary and distracting embarrassment.
There has been some effort on behalf of inventors to address the problems under consideration, reflected, for example, in Herring, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,801, which appears to be a modern version of a carrying case which uses, as part of its structure, an instrument stand to position it at an acute angle relative to the stage or other surface.
Urhig, in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,161, offers what appears to be a simple tripod type stand which is permanently affixed to the instrument itself, supporting the instrument along the back of the main body at an acute angle relative to the stage or other flooring.
While such a device may be very convenient to the extent that you pick up and set down the instrument frequently, it also means that the musician carries with him, or her, the additional load wherever they go, and if the legs do not remain flush while the instrument is in use, they are prone to get tangled up in microphone wires and other paraphernalia which could create some tense, if not embarrassing, situations.
Schoenig, in his U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,796, discloses a tripod type stand which is collapsible, so as to be portable, and is characterized by the provision of a yoke 14 which is foldable into alignment with the other parts of the stand when not in use. Neither Schoenig, nor the other patents referenced, nor other stands available to the cellist or other musicians, provides the stability and support which these instruments require and which is provided by the present invention, as will now become apparent.
The present invention is a simple, yet highly utilitarian, stand for supporting a string instrument, having as one of its principal objectives the positioning of that instrument, such as a cello, for immediate access by the musician, as needed, and a support when not in use. It will be appreciated that while it was developed for a cello, it could readily serve very efficiently as a stand for a viola, certain guitars, or even a violin or base.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a stand which supports a string instrument such as a cello, along its rear surface in a manner which will not restrict access in any way and, in a related objective, will not cause damage or harm to the instrument, or mar the finish, despite repeated placement on the stand. Relative to the foregoing, the stand inhibits inadvertent rotation of the instrument while on the stand by providing widely spaced support points for the instrument.
Another, and further, objective of the present invention is to provide a stand which compliments, while permitting the full beauty of the instrument to be appreciated, and at the same time permitting the other objectives enumerated above to be fully implemented.